Iraq: Export Licence Applications

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a further licence to export military list goods to Iraq. The arms embargo against Iraq remains in place under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003), with the exception of "arms and other related material required by the (Coalition Provisional) Authority to serve the purposes of this and other related resolutions". Accordingly, Her Majesty's Government consider it appropriate to grant exemptions for the export of riot shields which are to be used by Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) peacekeeping forces in Iraq. The export is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. Future applications will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UN embargo and consolidated criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time.

Crick Report: Government Response

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I am pleased to be able to announce today the Government's initial response to The New and the Old, the report of the Life in the United Kingdom advisory group, chaired by Professor Sir Bernard Crick, which was published on 3 September 2003. The group was established in order to advise the Government on the best way of implementing the provisions in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 which would require prospective British citizens to demonstrate knowledge of English, Welsh or Gaelic and of life in the United Kingdom. I repeat today the warm welcome we gave to the report on its appearance and my thanks to Sir Bernard and his fellow members of the advisory group.
	I will be placing in the Library of the House our responses to each of the recommendations; I summarise below our conclusions on what we consider to be the most important of the report's recommendations.
	We agree that the programme of citizenship studies should be drawn up under the six broad headings of British national institutions in recent historical context, Britain as a diverse society, knowing the law, employment, sources of help and information, and everyday needs. We also accept that a bilingual handbook on life in the United Kingdom should be prepared for the information of all who apply at posts abroad for entry clearance in a category which leads to settlement, and work on the preparation of such a handbook is already well advanced under the auspices of the advisory group.
	We accept the group's reasons for concluding that the language criterion for citizenship should be satisfied by evidence that a person has made measurable progress in his or her studies, rather than insisting on a single standard for everyone. For most applicants who are not already fluent, this would mean that they would be required to progress by one English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) level. As a minimum, those with no workable English, or one of the other UK languages, would be expected to progress at least to a basic level of competence.
	The advisory group also recommended that free assessments and tuition should be made available to all who have a route to indefinite leave to remain. The report points out that knowledge of English in particular greatly increases employment prospects, leading to less welfare dependence and greater integration into society. At the same time, the potential cost of full implementation is very high, and the Government cannot undertake to fund it in full in advance of the outcome of next year's spending review. We will study further both the possibility of full implementation of this recommendation and possible alternative ways of targeting our resources on those most in need of help in acquiring linguistic skills, and we will announce our conclusions as soon as possible.
	In addition, and in advance of the spending review, we are continuing with development work on possible means of assessment, delivery mechanisms, and the programmes of study themselves. We will explore the practicalities of piloting language with citizenship programmes from within existing resources in some areas.
	Finally, the advisory group proposed that an advisory board on preparation for naturalisation should be set up. The functions of such an advisory board would expand over time, as the 2002 legislation is implemented, but its early tasks would be to advise on the development of resources for the citizenship curriculum and to oversee the process of implementation of the 2002 legislation. The board may have a role in negotiations with the devolved areas of the UK on how they would wish these proposals to be implemented there. We have agreed in principle to the setting up of the board.

Defence 2004 Exhibition

Lord Bach: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	On 1 September 2003 I informed the House that the Defence 2003 exhibition, under the leadership of the Royal Air Force, which was scheduled to take place at the Royal International Air Tattoo, had been postponed by 12 months because of operational pressures (Official Report, col. 913-4W). In light of the continued high level of operational commitments and the associated demands upon service personnel and their families, the Ministry of Defence has now concluded that Defence 2004 should not take place. However, the Services will continue to fully support the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) which will take place in July at RAF Fairford, including support for a youth day, an Armed Forces careers convention, and commemorations of Entente Cordiale and the D-Day anniversary. Over the coming months we will be working closely with the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Enterprises who organise the event, to help ensure that RIAT continues its tradition of great success.

Colchester Garrison PFI

Lord Bach: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	There has been considerable interest in the House in the plans to redevelop the Colchester Garrison living and working accommodation. Detailed negotiations are taking place, and I intend to make an announcement to the House shortly.

Making it Happen: The Northern Way

Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the First Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I have published today a second progress report on the £22 billion Sustainable Communities Plan, titled Making it Happen: The Northern Way. It looks at the successes since the Communities Plan was published in February 2003, and at the challenges still to come. This follows on from the first statement, published in July 2003 on the Thames Gateway and the growth areas.
	The statement reports on the action being taken to regenerate our established urban and rural communities in the north and the midlands. It recognises the new confidence and energy that can be found in many of our northern and midland towns and cities, and seeks to build on this.
	We recognise that establishing sustainable communities in the north is as much about economic growth and employment as it is in the rest of the country. The statement makes clear that the north needs a long-term vision to exploit fully the economic and transport corridors connecting it—a "Northern Way", which looks east to west as well as north to south.
	This idea of a Northern Way—a bold vision that exploits the economic and transport corridors that bind the north—is an example of the new ways of thinking that we need to tap the potential of the north.
	We are convinced of the potential for an economic renaissance in the north, and we have pledged to work with the RDAs and the regional planning bodies to develop this vision, together with other key partners. This is alongside the other work that the Government are already doing to improve the relative economic performance of the north.
	The report I am launching today offers a vision for renewal and growth that will bring the jobs, investment and renewed housing that can create truly sustainable communities across the northern regions.
	We are working to revive communities, renew the homes and rebuild the streets in the areas most affected by abandonment and decay. I am announcing today that the Merseyside market renewal pathfinder will receive £86 million and that the Newcastle/Gateshead market renewal pathfinder will receive £69 million until March 2006 to help to tackle the terrible problems caused by low demand. This is in addition to an allocation of £4 million each for an early action programme.
	By March 2006, Merseyside expects to deliver: the demolition of over 2,700 redundant and obsolete homes, the refurbishment of 325 homes, over 1,600 new homes built and the widespread delivery of additional management measures designed to overcome the problems of low demand.
	By March 2006, Newcastle/Gateshead expects to deliver: the demolition of almost 2,000 redundant and obsolete properties, 100 new homes built, over 2,000 homes refurbished, and around seven hectares of land acquired for potential later development.
	Other announcements today include:
	27 pilot areas have been identified to receive a share of the £89 million Liveability Fund, and these are listed in the progress report. This will help them to develop innovative models for delivering a high quality local environment.
	We are creating a 16th urban regeneration company in Gloucester. Initial targets are to provide 3,000 new homes and 2,000 new jobs and to attract up to £400 million of private sector investment over 10 years.
	We are also providing funding to support the creation of a regional centre of excellence in every region. These will be used to improve the skills of people involved in the delivery of sustainable communities.
	We will be holding a Creating Sustainable Communities Summit in Manchester at the start of 2005, following on from the successful urban summit in 2002.
	The statement includes examples of the excellent work being done by our delivery partners—such as local authorities, English Partnerships, the regional development agencies, the Housing Corporation and urban regeneration companies—and of how we can work together in future to deliver a step change in sustainable communities.
	I am also publishing today nine regional annexes, providing short progress reports on the delivery of the Sustainable Communities Plan in each English region.
	Copies of Making it Happen: The Northern Way and the regional annexes have been sent to all English Members. Further copies of the report and annexes are available in the Libraries of both Houses, and on the website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at: www.odpm.gov.uk/communities.

London/Stansted/Cambridge Area

Lord Rooker: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am today announcing the extension of the London/Stansted/Cambridge growth area to include Peterborough and all of Cambridgeshire.
	This takes account of the important role and potential of Peterborough in contributing to growth as part of the London/Stansted/Cambridge growth area, and the work of the Regional Planning Panel for the East of England in preparing new regional planning guidance.
	It also reflects the important work under way on sustainable housing growth across Cambridgeshire, and particularly through the Cambridge sub-region infrastructure partnership, which includes Fenland, East Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.
	The complete list of local authorities now included in the London/Stansted/Cambridge growth area is:
	Braintree
	Broxbourne
	Cambridge
	East Cambridgeshire
	East Hertfordshire
	Enfield
	Epping Forest
	Fenland
	Hackney
	Haringey
	Harlow
	Huntingdonshire
	North Hertfordshire
	Peterborough
	Redbridge
	South Cambridgeshire
	Stevenage
	Uttlesford
	Waltham Forest.

Sustainable Communities: Planning Obligations

Lord Rooker: On 6 November 2003 the Government published a consultation document setting out their proposals for the reform of planning obligations policy. The Government have also made amendments to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill 2004 to facilitate the proposal to introduce an optional planning charge. On 30 January the Government published a Statement on the reform proposals and today are also publishing a summary of the responses received to the consultation. A copy of the Government's Statement and the summary of consultation responses have been placed in the Library of the House and are also available on the ODPM's website at www.odpm.gov.uk.

Criminal Defence Service

Lord Filkin: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, David Lammy, has today announced a package of measures, which will help to achieve better value for money in the legal aid system while ensuring that help continues to go to those who need it most.
	The package draws upon proposals contained in the consultation paper on the Criminal Defence Service (CDS) Delivering Value for Money in the Criminal Defence Service, which was published last year. After considering the responses to the consultation my honourable friend intends to introduce the following changes to the CDS:
	Strengthening the operation of recovery of defence costs orders (RDCOs).
	Abolishing advocacy assistance for early hearings.
	Restricting the scope of the court duty solicitor scheme to remove access for clients who are not in custody and who are charged with non-imprisonable offences.
	Abolish post-charge advice and assistance in criminal proceedings (except that provided by the court duty solicitor).
	Limiting the provision of free police station advice in certain cases to telephone advice only (with limited exceptions).
	He believes that these changes strike the right balance between ensuring the taxpayer receives good value for money while ensuring that publicly funded legal aid is available to those who need it most. The impact of these proposals will of course be kept under review.

General Commissioners of Income Tax

Lord Filkin: On 28 January 2004 I made an order under Section 2(6) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 amalgamating a number of divisions in Greater London and in Hertfordshire with effect from 1 February 2004, as follows.
	The Finsbury and Hornsey divisions shall be merged into a new division to be called the Finsbury and Hornsey division. The Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn divisions shall be merged into a new division to be called the Chancery Lane division. The Chelsea, St James Westminster and St George's Hanover Square divisions shall be merged into a new division to be called the Westminster division. The Hertford and Stevenage divisions shall be merged into a new division to be called the Hertford and Stevenage division.
	All the amalgamations were made at the request of the General Commissioners in all the divisions with the aim of improving the organisational efficiency of the divisions concerned. I have placed a copy of the order amalgamating the divisions in the Libraries of both Houses.